ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Last month's rechristening of Orient Lines'
Crown Odyssey here came off without a hitch.
Attired in suits and sunglasses on a bright and breezy Sunday,
most of the ship's 966 passengers looked on from a grandstand built
for the occasion. Others stood on Crown Odyssey's deck, peering
over the railing.
Although Crown Odyssey was set to begin a 12-day Mediterranean
cruise with ports calls in Turkey, Italy and Spain, there was
little of the usual eagerness to depart. Instead, the ceremony
unfolded with an orderly, almost languid pace.
There were brief addresses by Sir Edmund Hillary, the famous
Mount Everest climber; Ali Musfit Gurtuna, the mayor of Istanbul,
and Deborah Natansohn, president of Orient Lines.
Then Lady June Hillary, Crown Odyssey's godmother and Sir
Edmund's wife, swung a champagne bottle into Crown Odyssey's navy
blue hull with the help of the ship's master, Capt. Erik
Bjurstedt.
The bottle broke, the crowd cheered and the colorfully adorned
Ottoman Janissary Band struck up a vigorous march.
The crowd quietly boarded the 34,250-ton ship, and within a few
hours, Crown Odyssey was sailing away from the dock. Everything was
perfect and new.
But Crown Odyssey is not really new.
Built in 1988 for destination-oriented Royal Cruise Line under
the name Crown Odyssey, the ship came under Norwegian Cruise Line's
auspices a year later when the company purchased Royal Cruise Line.
NCL later shut down the Royal operation, transferring the vessel to
the NCL fleet and renaming it Norwegian Crown. NCL decided to
transfer the ship to Orient Lines last year.
Today's Crown Odyssey, while not a new ship, is a work in
progress.
Despite a two-week dry docking in Malta prior to the inaugural
cruise, there remains a significant amount of basic work to be done
aboard the vessel. Workers toiled on parts of Crown Odyssey
throughout the cruise, reconfiguring a few facilities and
refurbishing other areas where basic maintenance had clearly been
forgone.
Luckily for the line, none of the ship's major facilities were
affected, and some of the maintenance work was completed within
days.
Indeed, while some passengers remarked on the ship's condition,
everyone seemed to have a good time, which is at least partly
attributable to Crown Odyssey's distinct character.
Although it ranks among the industry's older ships, Crown
Odyssey was built with an eye toward the future. That fortuitous
decision now allows the ship to trade quite comfortably in the
present-day destination-cruise arena.
Several of the facilities and amenities that distinguished Crown
Odyssey in 1988 have emerged as key elements in today's large,
feature-rich cruise vessels. Crown Odyssey's staterooms, for
example, have bay windows, creating an atmosphere of open space
even in cabins without balconies.
Crown Odyssey has several other advantages. Built to undertake
long voyages, almost every stateroom aboard the ship offers
generous closet space. Crown Odyssey is additionally equipped with
a disappearing seagoing tradition: a dedicated movie theater.
The ship quickly became a favorite among Royal Cruise Line
regulars -- destination-oriented travelers who also enjoyed the
ship's above-average cuisine, lecture programs and gentlemen
hosts.
The latter were retired men who sailed for the purpose of
dancing and socializing with unaccompanied ladies. The program was
started by Royal Cruise Line and became an instant hit, helping to
make Crown Odyssey one of those rare cruise vessels that could
truly boast an extremely loyal clientele.
Ironically, many of those same features are attractive to Orient
Lines' passengers and bode well for the ship's future under the
company's stewardship.
Extended voyages, including land/sea packages; top-notch
cuisine, and friendly and attentive service are present on the ship
today, and the line's passengers seem to enjoy them just as
much.
It's a tribute to Crown Odyssey's design that despite the
maintenance-related shortcomings, it proved a quite comfortable and
versatile vessel.
Crown Odyssey has a gracefully attractive main restaurant -- the
Seven Continents -- and without much fanfare it serves some of the
best meals available on a cruise ship today.
The Top of the Crown lounge overlooks the bow and features huge
glass walls that offer a 360-degree view of the sea. The large,
circular lounge doubles as a disco and late-night watering hole; it
was well utilized as we spent nights sailing the Sea of Marmara,
the Mediterranean and the Straits of Messina.
Crown Odyssey is one of the few contemporary ships with a tiered
aft deck, which features a large swimming pool and plenty of
teak-floored sunbathing space.
Orient Lines has reconfigured other areas of the vessel. The
Yacht Club, formerly an eatery, bar and dance club, now functions
as a casual-style buffet restaurant during days and an alternative
restaurant in the evening, with indoor and outdoor seating. Evening
meals here are crafted from regional specialties from the ship's
destinations.
A former snack bar on the Penthouse (ninth) deck is now Cafe
Italia, an al fresco restaurant serving pizza, pasta and grilled
foods. The open-air eatery is complemented by a gazebo bar and two
whirlpools encased in marble.
On the Lido (eighth) deck, a new portside lounge, the Palm
Court, serves afternoon tea, and the starboard side features the
leather-appointed library and Net.center, an Internet and e-mail
facility with four terminals.
Other facilities have been redecorated, including the main lobby
and the casino. A tile mosaic wall was hastily built on the Horizon
deck to cover two showers but will have to be refinished to smooth
out some rough spots.
The ship also features a health club with an indoor pool, a show
lounge that features a variety of revues and comedy acts and three
boutiques.
While so much has changed around it, Crown Odyssey remains
largely the same, which is a good thing. The ship has now reclaimed
its original name and is sailing under the flag of a company that
closely mirrors the best attributes of its former owner. It
shouldn't be long before the ship creates a new legion of adoring
fans.